Fifty years: A community celebration
by Yhoretta
Summary: 12 authors, 13 oneshots; this a collaboration between some of this site's most enthusiastic Whovians to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Doctor Who! Each story will be published on its own day, counting down until the big event. Some are old, some are new. So take a peek, because it's going to be...fantastic! (Thanks to all those who submitted!)
1. Betawho

"_**Beginnings" by Betawho. Fiction rating "K" (First Doctor and Susan Foreman)**_

* * *

It was green.

He knelt down to study the stalk, rubbing it between his fingers.

Everyone knew that proper grass was red. A blazing crimson stretching to the

horizon.

But things were different out here. Different suns, different light spectrums.

Different chemical compositions to the soil.

He raised the stalk to his nose, then reared back at the sharp green smell. He

preferred the soft cinnamon smell of the grass back home.

He dropped the stalk and stood up. He breathed in a deep lungful of the fresh

air. Ah! But he had to admit, this planet smelled amazing after a rain shower.

"Grandfather?"

He turned to find his granddaughter poking her head out of the TARDIS doors.

"Is it safe?" she asked.

He smiled and held out his arm to her.

"Yes, my child. Come and see."


	2. Royslady51

"_**This dodgy old process****" by Royslady51. Fiction rating "T" **_

* * *

Rose's lonely wanderings through the multi-verses eventually finds her in the company of a man she knows on sight, if only from pictures of his past forms...one who is running alone. Well, she can't have that, can she?

**She **fell into step beside him, her stride already lengthening as she kept a half pace back and loped at his left shoulder. "What did you get yourself into now?" She asked, turning the Cannon off altogether. She also removed its battery and pocketed it. She wouldn't mind staying with this one...and she knew what he was going to be next. It had been a long, long wander since the days of her home universe or Pete's World, a journey that had spanned over three thousand years, in fact...and Rose had not aged a day since Sat five.

"Pardon?"

"Doctor."

"Oh. I don't recall you."

"No, you wouldn't and it's a really _long_ tel-lo...so why don't we get you out of whatever mess you've gotten into this time and then, when we have some leisure, I'll explain how you managed to get a physically 20 year old, 21st Century Earth human female from an entirely different dimension helping you out."

She grinned at his wild-eyed stare at her and kept one hand under his elbow when he would have stumbled. "Keep going, you can run and think at the same time..._usually_. I've met one or two of you that gave me some doubts..._oh dear_. I do hope you're not one of _those_."

"NO! No, I can indeed use my brain and feet at the same time."

"Seventh, isn't it?"

"Yes. Indeed."

"Just making sure, lead on."

His pursuers did catch up...but upon seeing another female running _with_ him instead of chasing him, they veered off to run down another likely trail and soon disappeared into the distance. Shortly afterward, he was unlocking the TARDIS doors and ushering her inside.

"Amazon types wanted your hide?"

"Pretty much." He paused to look at her.

"Better make sure I don't go anywhere, yeah? Vortex?"

His lips twitched. "Just so."

She waited, curving her back and bottom along one of the ship's odder flowing walls and felt the timeship shift said wall to fit her properly. She sighed, rubbing the side of her face again the TARDIS, almost purring her contentedness. She ignored the Doctor's startled intake of breath as his ship greeted her.

"Get the first bits from Sexy, then you can start asking questions from me." To the ship, she said. "Can't I keep this one? I'm exhausted. So _tired_ of wandering about by myself. It's no fun to get into trouble and there's no one to share the good bits with."

She noted the arrested expression on this version of the Seventh Doctor's face as the Ship explained there was only one Bad Wolf, so while a Doctor could keep her for _his_ life's full run, eventually, _she_ had to move on...and find a new universe that had an unsupported Doctor. Not all were the social rejects of their kind though they were more prone to becoming so...and as Rose slid down the wall to her rump on the floor he understood she'd been given the nod, so to speak by the ship.

The ship then covered the knowledge she shouldn't have and helped Rose pack what she didn't need when she was with a Doctor, away. She had found a safe harbor once more.

Instead, the Seventh was informed by Rose that because of an unavoidable incident in Rose's youth, she now shared DNA with the TARDIS...specifically, travel ability and the self-repair portion. Because of another incident involving saving both her universe and her first Doctor's Tenth body, she had been flung into a universe where Time Lords had never evolved, but worse, she had no time line...and so, she had begun to wander. Since she moved much slower than an actual TARDIS did, she could slip through the membrane of the Universal Wall until she reached a new universe and slip out again, never touching the void.

"But, it's exhausting on a human body...spend lots of time in repair mode." She finally told him, her voice scarcely more than a rasp as she allowed the past thousand years or so to catch up with her. The TARDIS explained what she was doing. And the Seventh simply scooped her up and bore her up the stairs and down the hallway to a room.

"Now, Rose...listen to me. This body's time is nearly done. I can feel the fires of regeneration _beginning_." He stopped cold as she moved him onto the bed without a word, stripping him to his underclothes.

"I've got you, Doctor: Let go." She smiled gently and used her Wolf to give him ginger highlights and undertones to the chestnut waves soon adorning his head. She also added longish, loose curls to the back and the rear of the sides of his head, arranging for a display he'd love. There was a price for ginger hair on a Doctor, though, she _knew_ that and brought out a few quirks that would cause later regenerations to cringe: Her Wolf chuckled and _tweaked _a few.

She ran her fingers through his hair. "Haven't had an Eight before. Should be fun, I've heard some interesting things about _this_ form. And you're gonna _need_ me later on. Get some rest, Doctor, don't doze off just yet, not until I get some tea into you."

"Thank you." He answered, then drifted off to a near, but not quite sleep.

Ten minutes later she coaxed him into drinking a full thermos of hot, sweet, double-strength tea...much sweeter than he usually drank it but post-regeneration needed it. Doubling the strength halved the amount he needed so he could sleep longer before needing the toilet. She also laid out the clothing some of his new quirks would require...

"Healing Trance, it'll speed things up a bit and make the transition smoother." She told him, experience with other Doctors in other universes, all long dead, ringing in her voice and confirmed silently by the TARDIS in his mind. She smiled mischievously at him. "All your new quirks will be up and ready to startle you when you wake up. Budge over, you're not the only one who needs a nap."

**:WHO IS COOL:**

This wasn't Regency, oh no, not at all. This outfit was pure _American_ history and who knew the Doctor would look _so_ good in buckskin? Tight buckskin breeches he looked like he'd been poured into and the same for his whang covered shirt...and those colorfully beaded, knee high, laced up, moose-hide moccasins. He wore a coonskin cap and feathers dangled near his temples, braided into his hair, eagle feathers adorned the left side while a colorful string of songbird feathers decorated the right. His Eighth body was 'ripped', too. He didn't have the slightly soft form he'd worn in her own universe...no, this Eighth was solid muscle...his sheer masculinity was something that stood out like a neon sign. A necklace of rough-cut gemstones and animal claws set just the right tone..._and Rose smiled._

He stared at himself in the full length mirror, in bemusement.

"I don't believe I've ever gone so...primitive before." He murmured, satisfied at the image. "But this suits me, oh my, yes. It's quite comfortable too."

"Look at your hair, Doctor. You _know_ you get odd quirks when you get ginger."

"Ah." He peered at the tones and nodded. "Undertones and highlights...which is why I'm at least dressed, if not in any modern style. A full redhead might have left me naked."

"I wouldn't mind...maybe next time." She smiled broadly at the thought of Naked Nine.

"Rose...?"

"Yes, I helped. Yes, I tweaked. Yes, I'd like to see Naked Nine..."

"Oh." He flushed, stuttered a bit and then retorted. "Well, you'll just have to wait then, won't you?"

It wasn't until nearly a month later he discovered that not only did he also like to dress in drag and let his hair down...but he was _good_ at it.


	3. The-Seer-Of-Gallifrey

_**"The Planet of the Ancients" by The-Seer-of-Gallifrey. Fiction rating "K+" (11th Doctor and Clara Oswald.)** _

* * *

_The Maitlands' House, England. Earth._

_8:00 AM. 2013._

As soon as Wednesday morning had come around again, Clara Oswin Oswald had immediately been expected downstairs as soon as she woke up. The light of the dawning sun had filtered through her bedroom windows, her woodland brown eyes had adjusted to the orange rays which appeared like curtains on the floorboards. She glanced warily at the digital clock on her bedside nightstand, reading the time to be exactly eight o' clock, on the dot, and the alarm had all ready rung.

She gasped, realising she had overslept almost more than thirty minutes, bolting out of the bed without caring for the placement of her covers, nearly skipping steps down the stairs before reaching the front foyer of the Maitland's house. Turning on her heels, she caught sight of a man she had come to know as "the Doctor", standing in the middle of the narrow entryway, innocently handling a morning tray of hot breakfast tea, a bowl for sugar, and a pack of Jammie Dodgers.

"Where are they?", Clara had gotten straight into asking him.

"_Good morning to you, too_.Where are who?" The Doctor had taken a short second to notice she had not gotten out of her crimson pyjamas, and her hair was fervently tangled like a cluster of vines in an abandoned garden. Her eyes, however, gave off her aura of anger, so the Doctor had little time to respond again before he was cut off by the young lady.

"You know who! Angie and Artie!" she shouted. She shuffled past the Doctor to reach the living room and the kitchen before turning to find him setting the tray of tea on a side table.

"Artie and Angie all ready left for school, and Daddy Maitland is at work. I arrived just in time for Wednesday, and I didn't mess it up this time!" the Doctor grinned, but his expression faltered as soon as he could see her own. "What?"

"No one woke me up? I missed my alarm and no one came to wake me up? And you just invited yourself in?"

"Apparently they didn't want to disturb you. …and yes, I _did_ invite myself in, thank you very much! I invited myself in and made you breakfast – I thought I'd deserve a little thanks for that."

Clara rolled her eyes and crossed her arms to begin proving a point, then leaving the past in the past by continuing his immediate conversation. She inevitably calmed herself down before sitting at the dining table and listening to the sizzling of what she questioned may have been "breakfast". It was obvious the tea and Dodgers were probably _his_ breakfast.

"I don't know what you like, so I'm making an _omelette du fromage_ for you."

She turned around to find the Doctor standing at the stove with a flipping spatula in his right hand, the handle of a perfectly unused dark-coated pan in his left, and a plain apron strapped around his waist, only hoping that she did not laugh while she gave her response. "No," she began, with only a snicker slipping through, "it's fine." She calmed herself back down after a second once he turned back to the stovetop. "And in this country, it's called '_omelette_'."

"Well, it has cheese on top. So _omelette du fromage_. It's a staple in most Earth countries that only counts France and the United States…, not really sure about France or most countries, though, since I heard it in a cartoon once that was from the States. I wonder why a cartoon would talk about omelettes and cheese. Sounds very pretentious, don't you think, Clara?"

At the point he started to ramble, he had lost her attention without realising he could have gone talking to a wall. She nodded absently before muttering, "Yeah."

"And help yourself to some Jammie Dodgers and tea! …'cause I think I burnt your toast… ."

"Yeah.", Clara had again nodded absently before sighing and glancing outside. It was another few minutes of silence that once the Doctor had finished making breakfast, he shuffled two plates, one of cheesy omelette and a new slice of toasted bread, and a slightly smaller plate with a few cherry muffins and two plump oranges in between. The first scent she caught was delightful and enlightening. "Doctor. This breakfast smells delicious… ."

"Thank you for that heads up, Clara, because I'll be enjoying it."

She blinked twice as soon as she heard what he said. "…what?"

"Your breakfast is still cooking. I told you to have some Jammie Dodgers and tea while you wait."

Typical, typical Doctor! Clara had that feeling he would take his breakfast first, but she expected the Dodgers to be _only_ his. A supposed upside to that fact, she figured. Without much else to do but wait, the young lady had taken a single cookie from the porcelain plate and nibbled rather shyly into it.

"So!," she began wholeheartedly, ready to get this morning behind her, "where are we off to, today?"

"Glad you asked. I thought you could choose again."

"Losing your imagination, Doctor? There's always something up there in your twenty-seven brains, or…whatever number of brains you've got…and you're asking me where we should go." The statement sounded more in tone of some inquiry, but the Doctor understood what she was intending to mean. "Or you're just too lazy to think about it."

"I am not!", he shouted in quick response, "I just…I wanted to let you go another round, today. Where do _you_ want to go? Somewhere awesome?, somewhere adventurous?, somewhere…?"

"Peaceful. I'd like a good break." Clara smiled as the Doctor had grinned jovially, which left him to take a moment and pause to think of what kind of planet was so peaceful that no other alien dare tread. The patient twenty-four year old had irritably tapped the tabletop as the strange man who paced back and forth on the clean kitchen floor had completely halted himself.

He snapped and turned on his heels, his ancient tree-brown eyes had a spark of joy, keeping his expression of jovial grin. "I have the perfect idea. Eat your breakfast, Clara!, and quickly! _I haven't been to this planet in ages_."

_Saalhna Mount Range, Vehrli Northern Province. Tesiva._

_Midst of Nightfall, pass of the Third Moon._

The offsetting sound of a mechanical whir made its placement on the peaceful cliff nearly atop one of the tallest peaks in the Saalhna range, which was high revered as the place where the Matriarch of this planet had often come to meditate, and the vista from the materialising, anachronistic police box was just as monstrous and grande as the mountain it stood.

"Do you feel the wind, Clara?"

Clara Oswald wore an opaque blindfold that completely obscured her sense of sight, in which she was guided by the Doctor to nearly the edge of the cliff. The wind held a bit of a chill, but a specialised vest from the Doctor had given her heat to keep warm. Her voice was low, as if she savoured the feel of the wisps of flowing wind, not wanting this moment to end. "The wind…yes."

The Doctor carefully smiled, keeping his long fingers on Clara's dainty shoulders. "You're about to witness what no human has ever seen, or will ever see in history." He carefully unfolded the ties on the blindfold to allow her sight to return, and she could not believe what she had come to see – in front of them was a crystalline rock that jutted out of the mountain to allow them to look even further. It glowed a brilliant red-violet, veins like blood pulsating through it, like the veins of glowing opal behind them on the navy rock of the mountain.

Far under their standpoint was a thick jungle of dark, blue-green leaves in a canopy that could easily have blocked out the light of the suns, and far into the distance was a pattern of lights in a circle that appeared embedded into the trees. "I came here, once, in my fourth incarnation, to solve a mystery that plagued the Tesivan."

"Tesivan?" Clara gave the Doctor an expression of confusion, refraining from breaking her enrapture of the astounding beauty which they stood far over.

"The people of this planet. Tall, reptilian, entirely sentient, some of the most intelligent creatures in existence. In legends, the Tesivan were also masters and experts at using the powers of their mind to their advantage. They are very welcoming, and dislike fighting and disagreements, though that doesn't mean they can't fight, themselves. That is why I brought you here, Clara. Are you ready for a magnificent adventure?"

Clara had stared wordlessly at the Time Lord, her deep brown eyes filled with wonderment and excitement at the coming moments, continuing her gaze to the further oceans. They were a glowing, tropical blue, transparent even to see the diamond white sand below, even at that astounding distance. She heard the sound of a whistle at the edge of her ears, along with a series of flapping that seemed to be what the Doctor referred to as "their ride across the heavens".

She took notice that a bird-like dragonesque creature, just taller than the Doctor, almost thinner than him as well, had come to a perch on the end of the large crystal. Its scales, or feathers, – she was unable to tell with the sheen being as it was – were a bright lavender, and the edges of its wingspan appeared to have the same kind of crystals as those jutting out of the colourful mountains. They were iridescent, rivalling brilliant colours of the rainbow.

The Doctor referred to the creature as "Arcus Pluhv", which was its species name that came from the Latin term _arcus pluvius_ meaning "rainbow". Clara wondered how it could fly with those kinds of wings, but she was not complaining. The Arcus had a thin, long neck with bits of sharp minerals, short, protruding from the spine along its neck and tail, having a layer of soft feathers which she felt upon petting the creature. The Doctor had taken his place behind Clara so to allow her to see the view.

"He's beautiful, Doctor."

"_She_, actually. The females and males are colour-coded – light colours on females, dark colours on males. This goes with the Tesivan, too."

He heartwarmingly smiled as she had taken the front spot on the Arcus, allowing the creature to begin its flight upward to the clear skies so black. What clouds there were had been far and few, allowing the majestic view of the vista beyond them to seem so much further away as the Arcus had flown higher. The human kept her breath held, unable to fully articulate what she had thought – a planet so peaceful, seemingly completely untouched by corruption or industrialisation, the aliens were apparently non-hostile…it was a dream come true. A dream for any human, any alien in fact, who sought the magnanimous purity of this planet would be the ultimate boon of their lifetime.

They ascended further into the elysian heavens, finding iridscent auroras across the skies, signifying they were at one of the poles. Like the wings of the Arcus, the aurora had often changed to numerous colours as they found it. And the creature had not even flapped its wings once, which it glided swiftly through the heavens without a change.

Clara could not believe her eyes with other mountains, a deep red colour in contrast to the navy blue they had just flew from, and bright, firey red crystals at a salient angle on its own rockfaces. There were several other Arcus Pluhvs in the sky, though at a lower altitude, and the Arcus they rode upon seemed to have its own language with them.

The young lady glanced upward toward the celestial heavens, finding the stars the colours of the rainbow, and another moon to add to the two in the sky was passing over like an eternal wheel. The suns, in the same sky, were not bright enough to have much of an influence on the lands, but their ambiance with the moons were like perfect harmony.

"Where did the Tesivan come from?" she asked the Doctor after he was just as enraptured as she was.

"The first Tesivan, whom had been called 'the Grande Matriarch', was the first Tesivan to ever exist. She was put on this planet to give it life, and from her came the race of creatures who are called 'the Tesivan'. They were granted the ability to live a very long life – in some terms millions of years, but they were considered immortal because of the length of one's lifetime, if lived to the absolute brink. The Matriarch was granted the gift by the Creator to be immortal, to live forever – the moment she was killed, her soul went into the next born Tesivan after her death, who was finalised granted immortality and eternity."

Clara paused, turning her head back to the majesty which lay below them, further above the village which had been seen off to the distance. "Could we meet this person? The one granted immortality after the Matriarch died, I mean."

"Unfortunately, Clara, she doesn't live here. I don't really know her, myself – never met her. I always wondered what it would be like to meet the lucky girl who was granted immortality but never had the time to do it. Or…well, _time_ in this case being that I just never thought about doing it or why it seems this person always evades me. …is there something wrong with me?, or —"

"Doctor, you're rambling. Again. You're ruining the moment."

The Doctor gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry 'bout that." For the next period of silence, they continued watching the passing vista, exiting the crescent moon range of mountains and over the vast jungles, finding various gems at salient angles, just below the treetops. The Arcus had begun its descent down further into the grande aurora, then lowering its altitude. "What do you think so far, Clara?"

"…words cannot express what I think, right now. …but I have a few words for something I might be thinking. 'This. Is. _Awesome_.', and that's it."

"Good choice of words. I do think it's just what the…anyway, I think we need to meet the natives, how about you?"

Clara's grin was all he needed before he prodded the Arcus downward, in which it met a slight angle that caused Clara to hold onto the traps of its shoulders. The skies were beginning to change colour, from jet black to a vivid blue as soon as it grazed the horizon. The descent, as the young lady was not expecting, was smooth like the winds.

She closed her eyes and breathed through her nose, breathing in the purity of the air, the dampness of the vast jungle below.

"The Tesivan have existed since even before the Time Lords, billions upon billions of years ago, but there is no sense of time in this dimension. They read their days as the time all moons pass over the horizon and the suns begin to cross. This is the day of one of their double eclipses, whatever day it is. The TARDIS sent us to this date in their past."

"Why not the future?", asked Clara.

"Well…I don't really know, myself. Maybe the TARDIS had felt exactly where you would want to go in the planet's timeline."

The young lady had enquired then a rather harrowing idea, something which the Doctor was on the fence of answering. "Does the planet ever meet its end?"

There was a moment of silence before she heard him sigh, and the Arcus glided ever a lower altitude to the point they could discern the individual leaves of the treetops. "…Clara, this planet…it does meet its end, in a rather…disturbing way. I don't want to…spoil the moment until we get you back home."

She spoke of the idea no more, leaving the Doctor to himself as the Arcus landed on a short cliff just above the canopy of trees, which led further down into the jungle before there was the village within close view. "The flight was gorgeous, Doctor."

"But this adventure isn't over yet. Ready to meet the indigenous peoples of Tesiva?"

"Oh, yes. I'm more than ready! I'm beyond ready."

The Arcus lay down on the royal blue stone to allow them to demount, and it had taken off in flight as soon as they had. It gave a smooth shriek of a sort of "Goodbye" as it glided further back into the nebulous sky. The Doctor had taken Clara by the hand and moved her along, further down into the jungles until they reached a sort of sandy bed with various patches of bright blue grass. The trunks of the trees glowed an incredible pastel green, and the bark was a dark blue-green.

There was a path of flowers like hibiscuses, hydrangeas, bird of paradises, many others that reminded Clara of a stereotypical vacation to Hawaii. This, however, must have been some sort of basic beauty on this planet, compared to the absolute majesty she had just witnessed in the heavens.

The distant, dim colours of the village gates were in view on the bioluminescent trail they walked. There were pure aromas around that gave them a sense of relaxation. Standing in front of the gate, as soon as it had come into better view, was a tall, distinctive creature who wore several opaque drapes across his shoulders, hips, and thighs. Armor braced his torso.

When the Doctor and Clara had come into his view, his eyes began to glow a brilliant yellow-green against a black sclera. His scales were mainly black with white veins running down his arms and legs. He had vestiges of white hair across his horned scalp.

"_Halt!_", he called instinctively, "Who are you? State your names." His voice was low, raspy like a growl of a sort. His thin body, as thin as the Doctor's own, was not what intimidated Clara – it was this creature's _monstrous_ height, ten or more feet in total. He held a javelin horizontally, one seemingly made of rock and crystal, much like the gate he stood to protect.

Clara had whispered to the Doctor her incredulous thoughts, "_I thought you said they weren't hostile_."

The Time Lord had supplied an explanation for the both of them. He held out his psychic paper for the creature to see, but the Tesivan had seen right through the guise.

"My mistake for outburst, Doctor." The creature's reptilian face seemed human if one stared straight onward, but there was little reason to fear if they were not willing to attack – so the Doctor said. The voice, however, seemed violent enough to startle Clara. "You are allowed to enter here, your friend as well."

"Come on, Clara."

The Tesivan had allowed them entrance to the village, finding an arch of royal blue rock with glowing opal veins, like those on the cliffside so far away. There was a naturally carved bridge which stretched over an eroded moat of glowing, transparent water that appeared to be a stream from the river.

What Clara had seen was a bright, lively village lit with glowing crystals from out of the ground, ambient blue and pastel yellow light from within homes out from under the clearing of trees, bioluminescent globe lights on strings, a fountain of glowing blue water at the centre, and tents nestled under the tropical, palm-like trees. This village was on rock, royal blue like the archways, but this was not even remotely all of it.

"Doctor, I…just…don't know what to say."

Clara, at a loss of words, allowed the Doctor to decide where they would go. There were alarmingly tall creatures, none exceeding eleven feet in height, all of them as thin as the Doctor himself, walking freely and socialising amongst themselves. Despite the fact Tesivan were dominantly telepathic, that did not mean they had no reason to speak aloud. The young lady hurried and sat down on the ledge of the fountain, which had a statue seemingly erected to a creature of their own, who had a stunningly long mane and a distinct tail – from the statues claws were spouts of water falling gracefully into the pool of water below.

There were glistening gold bits at the bottom that shined like the stars of the sky. "So, Doctor. Down to business! Why did you want to bring me here, _exactly_?" Her eyes were the only things he needed to find in her expression to see that she was serious.

"This was the only place that never, in its timeline, was attacked by aliens. It is beautiful and peaceful, something I hoped you would enjoy."

"I do enjoy it, and I thank you for taking me here, Doctor. What is there to do in this village?"

The Doctor grinned, "Lots of things! I enjoy the dancing, most, but I was hoping we could do some…what is it you girls do nowadays? Shop? Is that it? …or was it going out on dates to see movies at the cinema?"

With the Doctor in thought, Clara had hurried over to him and pointed in the direction of a tent which appeared to have jewellery of some sort, from what he could see. "Souvenir. Something to remember this place by when we go back.", Clara suggested quickly.

"…jewellery it is, then," he muttered, breathlessly, as he felt himself being dragged further.

At the back of the specified tent was a Tesivan who appeared to have her legs crossed, seemingly in meditation. Behind her were more shelves on small crystal geodes and shards, each of which were different colours. Clara had let the Doctor so she could browse at the magnificent crystals, all of which appeared to have descriptions. Some of them held familiarity – amethyst, ruby, sapphire, opal, diamond – and most others were unfamiliar.

"Doctor. Are these supposed to be enchanted?"

"Not of a sort, no. Kind of like your certain kinds of humans that use gems and minerals for meditation or their healing properties. The Tesivan believe in that sort of thing, too." The Doctor had, too, appeared enraptured in these minerals only found on Tesiva, which held a distinctive beauty.

"You can make these in charm necklaces? _Awesome_!" The human grinned excitedly as she began searching for the perfect mineral to have in a necklace. Over the six sets of shelves – two at the front, two at the back, two between – there were a myriad other tables which held bioluminescent crystals larger than the others. At the centre table, in the midst of the other tables, and under a glass showcase was a bright red stone, glowing like fire, unlike all of the other crystals she had seen. "What about this one?"

A light voice from the centre, atop a stage, was the Tesivan who appeared meditating. "_Courage and strength_." Her voice was smooth, like the tides of the ocean rushing inward and out.

"Clara," said the Doctor, "do you want the stone?"

"I think it would go well with all my red, don't you?"

He sighed, "It gives you courage. If our adventures seem bleak and I'm not there to help, I think we need to give you some courage and some strength."

She stared momentarily at the cinnabar-scaled Tesivan at the back, then back to the blazing red stone under the showcase, "…alright. I'll have it."

"_It is very expensive and does not come easy to price,_" said the Tesivan who still appeared to be meditating. Her mouth was not moving, which meant she may have been speaking with her mind. Telepathy.

"Could I wager? Bartering is a good sense of getting what we want."

"_Certainly. Name your price._"

While the Doctor had begun to wager a price, an object of immense value which could suffice for such a magnificent gem, Clara had vaguely heard the TARDIS _somehow_ coming into view. …what did this mean? How could he wager the TARDIS? Why? She was beginning to question why it was there before the Doctor had finally come to an agreement with the native Tesivan.

"I'm not bartering my TARDIS – Tesivan don't have any need to use one. It was something inside of value that they had given me long ago that I want to give back." The Doctor had disappeared into the TARDIS, which materialised behind the Tesivan, and Clara had awaited a few moments for him to return, holding a magnificent ultramarine blue – like the cobalt mineral – raw crystal ball in his hands.

The Tesivan had opened her eyes to finally see the object in view.

"_Thank you, Doctor._ _It means much that we have received back the Sphere of the Moon given to you so many years ago._" Using her ability of psychokinesis, the Tesivan had opened the crystalline showcase to reveal the bright red, glowing crystal on a small, square pad. "_I grant you the Crystal of Kiyhn in return_."

"Could I have that in a necklace?", Clara asked innocently.

"_Certainly_."

"With some rubies…if that's fine. Small ones."

The Tesivan, who revealed her name during the barter with the Doctor as "Shivisi", had nodded in understanding and compliance to begin work on crafting the necklace which she had learned from reading Clara's mind. The short moments passed, in which the Doctor heard a certain upbeat music outside, native music to this particular village, and began to dance what he called the "Drunk Giraffe".

"Doctor! What are you doing?", Clara incredulously asked, attempting to keep her voice under control without unnecessarily laughing.

"Dancing! Don't you hear the music?"

She sighed, refusing to speak when she had heard the snap of a chain, a golden one at that which she saw upon turning around with Shivisi staring the Doctor placidly in the eyes, a sort of hypnotic stare that almost commanded attention. _Almost_. Shivisi turned her gaze toward Clara, who stared down at the most gorgeous necklace she had ever seen. "Thank you so much."

With an approving nod of the Tesivan, she allowed Shivisi to connect the necklace around her neck. In Clara's red dress and black boots, the Doctor found she looked positively stunning with the bright red stone at the centre of the necklace. She had taken her gaze back the reptilian, whom had given her last word. "_You shall strike down the hearts of men and melt them with your beauty_."

Clara Oswald had grinned jovially, giving Shivisi her nod of approval, then returning to find the Doctor still dancing. "Mind if I join you?"

"Er…", the Doctor trailed off as soon as Clara had interrupted him once they began dancing to music as they reached the outdoor cobblestone, colourful as it was, just meters the other way.

It was a perfectly good way to end a magnificent Wednesday.

…before she had to go back home.


	4. Lucillia

"_**Shades of meaning" by Lucillia. Fiction rating "K" (Third Doctor and The Brigadier)**_

* * *

The Doctor sighed as he shook a nutritional supplement out of the half-empty bottle in the TARDIS infirmary. He'd gotten into a bit of a habit of actually eating rather than relying on nutrient tablets like most Time Lords, and as a result, he was feeling a bit peckish. He had a standing invitation to the UNIT canteen, but it was around the usual mealtime of a certain junior officer and he'd sooner not eat than let the antics of some uncultured primate chase him off.

It wasn't that the man was particularly ill-mannered for his species. In fact, the man was rather likeable for his species. It was just that...It was just that the man had a habit of almost unthinkingly taking food off of people's plates at mealtimes, and on Gallifrey - amongst those who ate actual meals instead of meal tablets - such actions were only reserved for family or those who were practically as close as, which this man was not. He probably wouldn't have a problem with this habit, but as well as having a habit of stealing from nearby plates, the man tended to try to sit next to him every time they were in the canteen together in some sort of attempt to make him feel included.

While he was a bit hungry, he wasn't in the mood to constantly defend his dinner from the predations of a hungry scavenger, and he was certain that while stabbing said scavenger with an eating utensil would teach it a lesson it would never forget, it wouldn't go over too well with said scavenger's fellows.

It would seem that he would have to go without, seeing as his best weapon couldn't come up with a permanent solution to the problem that wouldn't leave his _kind hosts _looking at him mistrustfully, or more mistrustfully than they usually did, rather.

Since he was the alien here, all it would take would be one incident…Well, he was the alien here, nobody knew a blessed thing about his society that he didn't tell them, and there'd been one or two interesting misinterpretations before…

Straightening his coat and adjusting his sleeves which had a bit of a habit of bunching together at the bottom of the wrist, he made his way to the canteen that he refused to be chased out of, placed himself in line, grabbed a tray, acquired his meal, and took it to a table where he'd be able to quietly eat it in peace while observing those around him...had a certain individual who was determined to make him feel included not been there that was. As predicted, a certain Lieutenant whose name coincidentally happened to be John Smith came over and seated himself beside him.

He let the man's prattling go in one ear and out the other as he focused on his meal. Eventually, the man's fork made its way towards what for a human would've been a choice morsel, but for him was barely palatable. A choice morsel that wasn't on the young officer's plate.

"My dear man," he said in a voice that was loud enough to catch the attention of those in the surrounding area. "While I am flattered that you feel that strongly towards me, I will have to inform you that I do not hold you in such regard."

The young Lieutenant turned to him and gave him that confused and stupefied look that the humans had perfected. The one that had nearly caused the first Time Lord to encounter the species to mistakenly mark them down as non-sentient.

"What?" the man said after he'd blinked a few times and allowed his brain to reboot.

"I said I don't love you." he replied loudly enough to catch the attention of the entire room.

"What the hell are you playing at?!" the now affronted Lieutenant said, looking as if he were preparing for a violent confrontation.

"Where I come from, only people who love each-other eat off of each-other's plates." he said, technically telling the truth, though leaving the actual meaning of what he'd said up to undoubtedly erroneous interpretation. The ambiguities of the English language which used one word to describe what had taken the ancient Gallifreyan poets hundreds to describe as there were so many different shades and permutations depending on the distance and relation between the individuals indicated often amazed him.

The confused and stupefied expression made its reappearance on the young Lieutenant's face as several men in the surrounding area who were undoubtedly familiar with Lieutenant Smith's habits started snickering. One of the young Lieutenant's friends said "You walked into that one mate!" as he pulled the man away before there could be any further trouble. As the other John Smith made his disappearance, he resumed eating, satisfied that any other potential food snatchers would be deterred.

After he'd managed to finish his meal, he made his way back to his lab and some actual work for his hosts rather than having another go at his dematerialization circuit on UNIT time. While he was waiting for a final analysis of the substance that a couple of young soldiers had found at a crash site that had left a number of the men muttering darkly about "Bloody Torchwood" to come in, the Brigadier entered the lab as if he owned the place.

"Doctor," the Brigadier said in that tone that indicated that the man suspected that he'd been up to some sort of mischief. "I heard the most interesting rumor earlier."

"I'm sure you did." he replied as one of his personal machines spat out one of the hard-copy reports that the members of the not-yet-digital society liked to have on hand so they could stamp it Top Secret and shove it in a drawer somewhere to collect dust.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me about your relationship with that boy Jamie?" the Brigadier asked, catching him off-guard.

Looking back on it, he could say that he had taken food from Jamie in the past, and Jamie had taken food from him, not that he remembered doing such in front of anyone from UNIT. But, then again, had Jamie been a bit younger, he would have likely heard yells of "You adopted a WHAT?!" from his entire family when he'd been dragged back to Gallifrey after that incident with the War Chief that had separated him from his young Highland friend for a good long time.

"Brigadier, the word "Love" has so many different shades of meaning. It's not my fault that you humans tend to automatically pick the one that is most closely tied to acts of recreational intercourse." he said, before turning back to the readout he'd spent an entire three minutes waiting for.

"No, it isn't." the Brigadier said, looking as if he were barely suppressing laughter. "But, it was probably very convenient for you."


	5. Scarlet Phlame

"_**50" by Scarlet Phlame. Fiction rating "K+" (11th and 10th Doctor, Rose, River.) **_

* * *

The TARDIS landed, with a soft groan, onto the silky white sand of none other than Darlig Ulv Stranden... formerly known as Bad Wolf Bay. Rose and her metacrisis Doctor stood patiently to the side of their own TARDIS, hand-in-hand. They'd received the Eleventh Doctor's message and had shown up, if only for a brief reunion.

They were surprised, nonetheless, when a man and a woman stumbled out of the other TARDIS.

"River!" the man groaned.

"It's not right," she said, grabbing his bowtie and attempting to throw it in the water.

"It's not right," he agreed. "It's cool."

"I give up," she moaned.

"Hello," the metacrisis Doctor said, giving a small wave.

"Wow," the Eleventh said, studying the metacrisis Doctor closely. "Weird how much I've changed since we last met."

"Hi," Rose said politely, holding out a hand for River to shake. "I'm Rose Tyler."

"Professor River Song," the woman said with a grin.

"Nice to meet you. I'm the Doctor's wife," both said. At exactly the same time.

"Well," the metacrisis said, looking a bit embarrassed. "That's a bit awkward."

"Very," Eleven agreed, eyeing the shocked expressions on each of their companion's faces.

"You married the Doctor?" River asked.

"Yeah, but wait a minute, you married her?!" Rose asked the Doctor, mouth agape.

"No, I didn't!" Ten argued. "He did!" he pointed to Eleven.

"Steven Moffat made me do it!" Eleven said. "And he calls you the whiny ex girlfriend!"

"You idiot, you don't just tell her things like that!" Ten said, hitting Eleven in the arm.

"Well, then, who are you?" Rose asked River. "How did you two meet?" Eleven pushed the two apart, embarrassed.

"I don't think you need to know," he said.

"Yes, I do," Rose said.

"Well, he was traveling with my mother and father," River said.

"What." Rose said.

"Yes," River said.

"You... married your companion's DAUGHTER?" Rose searched for the right words.

"Well... I wouldn't put it like that..." the Eleventh said slowly. "I mean, it happened more like..."

"Happened more like exactly how I put it," River said.

"No!" Eleven said. "She was a psychopath... well, my psychopath..."

"You married a psychopath?!" Rose cried, turning to Ten.

"No! Maybe the other Doctor had brain damage," Ten said quickly. "I'd never marry a psychopath!"

"She's not really a psychopath," Eleven cut in. "She just tries to kill me. Frequently."

"You married a-"

"I didn't marry anyone!" Ten exclaimed.

"So you didn't marry me?!" Rose asked.

"No! I mean, yes, I did! But it's... complicated," Ten said.

"Our relationship is not complicated, it's fine, there's nothing wrong with it!" Rose shouted.

"No! I didn't mean it like that!" Ten said, before pausing and turning to River. "Wait a min... I met you. Before. In the library!"

"Best not talk about the library," Eleven said a bit too late.

"You died!" Ten said.

"You married a dead person?!" Rose yelled.

"I'm not dead!" River cried. "Am I?!"

"No, sweetie, you're not dead," Eleven said.

"Don't call me sweetie, it makes me sound all soft," River said scoldingly.

"You call me sweetie all the time!" Eleven cried.

"That's the point," River said.

"Stop ignoring me!" Rose said.

"I'm not ignoring you!" Ten yelled.

"Yes you are!" Rose shouted. "What, are you just into people whose names start with an R? River? Rose? Reinette?"

"I only kissed her once!" Ten said.

"Who kissed who?!" River yelled.

"I didn't kiss Who, I kissed Reinette," Eleven shouted.

"See?" Nine asked offscreen, munching on his popcorn. "This is why I didn't want to be in this episode."

FIN


	6. CaptinXena-Mation

"_**Beautiful planets" by CaptinXena-Mation. Fiction rating "K" (Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright.) **_

* * *

Ian and Barbara stepped out onto the blue grass of the planet Gossariattee, the planets twin suns heated their skin while the gentle breeze kept them cool. Ian smiled at Barbara and the pair walked away from the TARDIS to the edge of a small cliff, they looked down at the purple water rushing below, taking each other's hand they lay down on the soft grass. The whooshing of the TARDIS filled their ears and they turned to see the blue box disappearing.

"Now we can spend some peaceful time together," Ian said, he took Barbara's hand and looked up at the sunset that began to form in the sky. There were few clouds around so the couple had a brilliant view of the two colossal stars passing each other in the violet sky.

"Other planets are so beautiful," Barbara whispered, she smiled up at Ian who nodded in agreement.

The sunset changed colour into a deep blue, then a wave formed in the sky, it reminded Barbara of the northern lights, except it was red and yellow and the colours seemed to grow. Soon the entire sky was just blood red and yellow with speckles of purple spread through it.

"It's," Barbara started "It's just amazing." She looked into Ian's eyes and he looked into hers. They leaned closer together and shared a small kiss.

A sound started humming through the trees as the wind slowly picked up. It sounded like birdsong in an orchestra. The sound seemed to wrap around the couple and envelope them in a sweet melody.

Some small animals that resembled rabbits carefully crawled out of their holes in the base of nearby trees. The baby-pink creatures sat themselves in a circle around Barbara and Ian who turned around to watch as the rabbit-creatures raised their furry heads and began to sing.

The creatures voices sounded like nothing Ian nor Barbara had ever heard before. They sang in a gentle tune, there were no recognisable words but the creatures sang with passion and hope. The song attracted more animals, some that resembled butterflies, but had rainbow shaded wings. Others like foxes with white fur patched with a deep blue not dissimilar to the night sky on Earth. The animals all gathered round in a circle to admire Ian and Barbara, who returned the favour, staring in awe at all the beautiful creatures.

By then the sky had gone dark, it had turned to a deep purple colour that almost matched the summer dress Barbara had decided to wear. Stars sparkled bright white in the sky, the planet's lack of moon meant that no light was cast on the planet, everyone sat in darkness for a moment.

"Perhaps it's time we leave," Ian had started, until Barbara hushed him and pointed at one of the rabbit-creature, every single one of which was beginning to glow a gentle green colour. They lit up in a ring around the Earth couple and made soft purring noises. Barbara stroked one of them, its fur was soft under her hand and reminded her of a pet she had when she was small.

The couple lay back down on the grass and fell into a deep sleep to the sound of the music.

"I love you," Ian had muttered as he held Barbara gently with his arms and leaned his forehead into hers. They stayed there for the rest of the night until the Doctor and Susan turned up the next day to take them on more adventures through time and space.


	7. TheDoctorAndSarah

"_**Strictly sentimental" by TheDoctorAndSarah. Fiction rating "K" (Tenth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith). **_

* * *

Sarah Jane sat at her vanity brushing out her hair. She had been getting ready all day and now she was done. She looked down at the little crystal clock and noticed the time. He had a half an hour to go before he was late. She smiled and picked up the photo album she had dug out earlier just for today. She picked it up and started going through it. She looked at herself and her husband and shook her head. How could time have flown by so fast? All these years spent with the love of her life and yet it seemed as if they had just said their I do's and headed out of the ceremony to start their lives as husband and wife.

She turned over another page and there they were again. This time they were at the reception and dancing their first dance. Who would have thought that she could know joy like this after all the insanity of traveling with the Doctor? For so long, he had been the center of her universe. Dashing about from one planet to the other, narrowly escaping death, battling monsters, Daleks, never pausing to take a vacation from it all. He was so difficult to reason with sometimes. There were days when all she wanted to do was catch her breath and go somewhere for just a few days of peace and quiet. She was glad her life wasn't like that anymore. She was so absorbed in her thoughts she didn't hear the sound of footsteps leaping up the stairs and into the room.

"I'm on time," he said, a little breathless. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, catching sight of the pictures. "Reminiscing, I see?"

"Yes love, so many wonderful memories of so many years together." She brushed her hand over his cheek and smiled at him. "You know though, I have a feeling that the best memories are yet to come."

"Of course they are," he said.

"Well, we're going to miss one of them if you don't hurry up and get dressed. I laid out the suit you wanted to wear on your side of the bed for you. That should help you save a little time. I'm just going to sit here with this album till you're ready." She put her head down and flipped another page. She started laughing. "Oh heavens, here's me feeding you cake, you're covered in frosting too. You always have been fond of cake, even if you ended up wearing it."

"As I recall," he called from the bathroom, where he'd disappeared with his suit, "you were wearing as much as I was."

"Yes, you took great delight in smearing one of the frosting orchids all over my face," she chuckled. "Even worse, you licked it off my cheeks till I almost choked to death laughing." She sighed this time. "You were so handsome that day. You still are, though I shouldn't tell you. Your ego really doesn't need feeding."

She thought about how her own ego had been so crushed the day the Doctor had come back into her life at Deffry Vale - with Rose in tow. No wonder she'd said "no" when he'd asked her to come back.

"Are you saying I've got a big head?" he asked from behind the bathroom door. "I thought it was quite reasonably sized."

"Your head is fine, but that mind of yours is a bit overgrown." She put the book down and slipped her shoes on. "Promise you'll dance with me tonight."

"Who else?" he says, smiling as he comes back into the room, dressed and ready.

Sarah smiled yet again and tilted her head at him. "You're irresistible, no wonder I adore you." She walked over to him and slipped her arms under his. "Ready to go?"

"With you? Always." He guided her down the stairs, then turned towards the back of the house. "Hang on, I forgot something." Before she could say anything, he ran off towards the living room.

Typical, she thought, but she wouldn't change him for the world. There was a time after the Doctor left her in Aberdeen and it was clear that he wasn't coming back, when she thought she'd never be happy again. She had no idea back then that she could ever be this happy with her life. There was no way she could ever begin to tell her husband how grateful she was to be part of his life and to share it all with him. Then she noticed the clock in their front room and frowned. "Look," she called out. "We are going to lose our reservations if you don't quit dawling about."

"Just a minute," he called. Then, "Can you give me a hand here?"

"Alright," she answered him. "Anything to speed you up." She headed towards the room he had disappeared in. "Are we playing hide and seek then? Is that why you've shut the door?" She turned the knob and started to enter the room. Suddenly, about thirty voices shouted out in unison, "Surprise! Happy Golden Anniversary you two!"

"Oh goodness," Sarah Jane exclaimed. "Well, at least I'm dressed for the occasion." She looked over at the man she had married 50 years ago. "You had this planned all along didn't you? You're still going to have to dance with me you know, I'm not letting you out of your promise."

The Doctor held out his arms for her, then snapped his fingers, and the music started. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He began to dance with her. "Now are aren't you glad you gave me a second chance when I came back alone?"

"I most definitely am. You and I belong together. We're both rubbish without each other."

He smiled. "I don't think I've mentioned that you look amazing this evening."

"You didn't up till now, but thank you just the same. Thank goodness spending so much time in the TARDIS has slowed down my aging. Makes me look at least 40 years younger. It's better than being married to a plastic surgeon," she said, her eyes twinkling with happiness.

She put her head on his shoulder and let him waltz her around the room. As she looked around she could see so many of their friends. She b*** a kiss when she saw Sky and Luke with their families. How happy she had been the day her beloved Doctor adopted them.

Yes, he always was and always would be the best thing that ever happened to her. She was right, he was her life and she could never have been this happy without him. "I love you," she whispered in his ear.

"I will always love you too, my Sarah Jane."


	8. Bananas-are-good-9

"_**Falling for you" by Bananas-are-good-9. Fiction rating "T" (Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler). **_

* * *

Rose stood next to the Doctor, watching the Cybermen and the Daleks wreaked havoc on the streets below. She heard Pete sigh and she looked over to see him walking away from the window, looking exasperated.

"I'm sorry, but you've had it. This world's gonna crash and burn. There's nothing we can do. We're going home. Jack's, take this." He said, tossing Jackie a yellow disc attached to a chain.

"But they're destroying the city!" she cried.

"I'd forgotten you could argue." He sighed, a small smile playing across his lips. He looped the disc around her neck. "It's not just London, it's the whole world." Jackie looked away, he held her face in his hands, "But there's another world, just waiting for you, Jacks. And it's safe. As long as the Doctor closes the breach. Doctor?" he finished, looking at the Doctor who was the only one left at the window.

"Oh, I'm ready." He said, turning with a gleeful smile slapped on. Rose didn't want to ask why he had 3-D glasses on, she was sure he'd bring it up himself. "I've got the equipment right here. Thank you Torchwood!" he continued, running to a computer. "Slam it down and close off both universes." He said, furiously typing. Rose stepped up behind him, trying, and failing, to understand what he was doing.

_Reboot systems. _An electronic voice stated.

"But we can't just leave. What about the Daleks? And the Cybermen?" she asked, moving out of his way as he stood and walked away from the computer.

"They're part of the problem. And that makes them part of the solution." He turned to face her, the huge grin making another appearance. "Oh yes!" he cried, swinging an arm out to emphasize his point. Rose laughed weakly; she was looking at him like he had gone crazy. He stood there for a second, as if waiting for them to realize something. "Well," he said finally, "isn't anyone gonna ask?" he looked at each of their blank stares. "What is it with the glasses?" he asked for them, pointing at his 3-D eyewear.

"What is it with the glasses?" Rose asked, laughing. She knew him too well.

"I can see! That's what! 'Cos we've got two separate worlds, but in-between the two separate worlds, we've got the Void. That's where the Daleks were hiding. And the Cybermen travelled through the Void to get here! And you lot – one world to another, via the Void!" he paused, for about half a second, but a pause nonetheless. "Via the Void! Oh, I like that. Via the Void! Look!" he cried suddenly, sticking his glasses on Rose. "I've been through it. Do you see?" he weaved to and fro in front of Rose.

_Reboot in three minutes._

"Void stuff." He explained, still weaving. Rose's hand reached out, in an attempt to touch the strange matter floating around the Doctor.

"Like um… background radiation!"

"That's it. Look at the others." Rose turned to look at the others. They were watching the display with odd looks, except for Mickey though; he was slightly used to it. "The only one who hasn't been through the Void – your mother. First time she's looked normal in her life." He joked.

"Oi!"

The Doctor turned and ran to the empty space in front of them. "The Daleks lived inside the Void. They're bristling with it. Cybermen, all of them. I just open the Void and all the Void stuff gets sucked back inside." He cried, happy to be rid of them.

"Pulling them all in!" Rose cried, just as happy.

"Pulling them all in!"

"Sorry, what's the Void?" Mickey asked.

"The dead space. Some people call it 'Hell'."

"So you're sending the Daleks and Cybermen to Hell." He said to himself, putting the disc around his neck. He turned to Jake. "Man, I told you he was good."

"But it's like you said, we've all got Void stuff. Me too, 'cos we went to that parallel world." Rose looked at her own hand; she had a sinking feeling when she saw the 'stuff' floating around them. "We're all contaminated. We'll get pulled in." she said, looking up at the Doctor, who was standing before her.

"That's why you've gotta go." He said sadly.

_Reboot systems in two minutes._

"Back to Pete's world." He continued, when he saw that Rose wasn't getting what he was saying. "Hey, we should call it that. 'Pete's World'." He said a small smile on his face when he pointed to the man in question. He turned back to Rose. "I'm opening the Void, but only on this side. You'll be safe on that side."

"And then you close it. For good?" Pete asked, the Doctor looked at him with some reluctance.

"The breach itself is soaked in Void Stuff; in the end it'll close itself. And that's it. Kaput."

"But you stay on this side."

"But you'll get pulled in." Mickey said, finishing Rose's thought. The Doctor ran over to the magnaclamps, holding one up.

"That's why I've got these. I'll just have to hold on tight – I've been doing it all my life."

"I'm supposed to go." Rose said, as if to make sure she was hearing it right.

"Yeah."

"To another world, and then it gets sealed off."

"Yeah." The Doctor said again. He started working on another computer, unable to look at Rose.

"Forever." She said solemnly, and then she laughed. "That's not gonna happen." They all reached to grab something as the ground shook from an explosion outside.

"We haven't got time to argue, the plan works, we go in. You too. All of us." Pete said, his annoyance seeping into his words. They all followed him, save one, and they formed a messy circle.

"I'm not leaving him!" Rose yelled angrily.

"I'm not going without her."

"Oh my god. We're going." Pete groaned, turning on Jackie.

"I've had twenty years without you, so button it. I'm not leaving her." Jackie shouted, venom leaking into her voice.

"You've got to." Rose said sadly.

"Well that's tuff!"

"Mum…"

_Reboot in 45 seconds._

"I've had a life with you for nineteen years. But then I met the Doctor and – all the things I've seen him so for me. For you. For all of us. For the whole stupid planet and every planet out there. He does it alone mum." Rose's voice shook with tears threatening to fall. Behind her the Doctor took a yellow disc out of his pocket and slowly walked up to Rose. "But not anymore. 'Cos now he's got me." She began to back away from her mum and the Doctor met her halfway, looping the disc around her neck. "What're you-?" she began. It was too late. Before she could breathe, she saw Pete press the button and she was pulled from the Doctor.

On the other side of the breach, Rose stood speechless. "Oh no you don't. He's not doing that to me again." And she pressed the button and appeared in front of a surprised Doctor.

He grabbed the tops of her arms and stared into her eyes. "Once the breach collapses, that's it. You will never be able to see her again. Your own mother!"

"I made my choice a long time ago, and I'm never gonna leave you." The Doctor stared at her, unable to process what he just heard. "So, what can I do to help?"

"Um, nothing. Not yet anyway. I've got it all ready. Just need the computer to be ready to reboot." She nodded and went to sit in a chair, he followed in suit. They sat in comfortable silence until the computer spoke again.

_Levers operational_

The Doctor grinned at the sound of the cold voice.

"That's more like it, bit of a smile! The old team…!" she trailed off, unsure of which nickname to use.

"Hope and Glory, Mutt and Jeff, Shiver and Shake!" he listed as he handed a magnaclamp to her.

"Which one's Shiver?"

"Oh, I'm shake." The Doctor said with a smile as they attached the magnaclamps to the walls next to the levers. With the clamps attached, they walked over to the levers. Rose tried to catch the Doctors words as he spoke extremely fast. "When it starts, just hold on tight. Shouldn't be too bad for us but the Daleks and the Cybermen are steeped in Void Stuff. Are you ready?" Rose nodded and they took their positions.

She looked out towards the window, her hands on the lever. "So are they."

"Let's do it!" They pushed up the levers and quickly grabbed hold of the clamps.

_Online._

The Doctor couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he saw Daleks and Cybermen being sucked in. Seconds later, that happiness faded into dread as he watched a Cyberman hit Rose's lever, causing it to disconnect.

_Offline._

The Doctor watched in horror as Rose desperately tried to reach the lever. It was just out of reach. Just when she was about to reach it, a Dalek came spinning towards her, knocking her unconscious, and sending her towards the lever. It hit her across the midsection and, ironically, she was able to lock it back in place.

_Online and locked._

The Doctor watched in horror as Rose's limp body began to fly toward the Void, even his screams were lost in the sound. At the last second, Pete Tyler appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her, pressing the button again. And she was gone. The Doctor held on in sheer shock until the Void closed. Ten seconds later, it closed itself and the Doctor crumpled to the ground.

_He had lost her. His shining salvation. Gone. She was safe. Far better than the alternative._ He shivered at the thought of Rose, trapped in the Void. Slowly he walked towards the wall where the rift had been. The pressed his cheek and his palms to it. It was as if he was trying to will her back to this universe. He knew it would never work. He pulled away, knowing that it was impossible. He looked back towards where the Daleks broke through the window and walked towards it. He was high, very high. All it would take was something like a sneeze and he wouldn't feel this pain anymore, especially the pain he felt of losing the woman he...the woman that he...admired. He looked back across at the blank white wall. He cursed that wall.

Elsewhere, exactly four floors down, Rose woke up feeling, sore. She was laying on her side and when she tried to sit up, it didn't make it any better. She hit her head on the underside of a metal desktop. She looked around in confusion, the last thing she remembered was getting hit by the Dalek. She knew this wasn't the Void. In fact it looked very familiar. By the absence of her mother, she guessed that she was still within her universe. She knew she wasn't on the top floor anymore, judging by the lack of the Doctor. She crawled out and stood, unsteady on her jelly legs. She went for the staircase, trying to take them two at a time, she had a feeling that the Doctor was about to do something very stupid.

The Doctor was in the exact state Rose expected him to be in. He stood on the edge of the window, facing the White Wall of Doom, he nicknamed it, and his back to the rest of the world. He rolled back on the balls of his feet slightly, feeling the way his hearts reacted, his survival instinct making him stand straight once more. He took a deep breath, steadying himself. He knew what he was about to do. He knew what that would mean. He didn't care anymore. Anyone else he would have killed should be thanking him now. He took another breath, his form of liquid courage he mused.

"I love you Rose Tyler." he said as he leaned back, closing his eyes.

"DOCTOR!" A voice pierced him through his hearts. His eyes shot open and he was staring at a red faced Rose, her eyes were wide as well as she took him in. "Doctor!" she screamed again, and she ran towards him. He wanted to slap himself. He knew he was far too slanted to be pulled back up, at least without possibly taking anyone down with him. She reached for him, and his hand shot out as well. Their hands fit together and the Doctor's hearts chilled. He was still falling, he had just added another victim. He pulled Rose into his arms as they fell, headfirst, to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry." he chanted in her ear as they fell.

"It's ok Doctor. I will always forgive you, I love you." He looked down at her face, wondering if he had misheard her.

"Quite right too." He muttered finally. Rose watched as he began to dip his head. His forehead suddenly made contact with hers as they landed on something.

"Oh…" Rose muttered, rubbing her forehead as she stood up. She was relieved by the familiar coral struts that surrounded them.

"Ow." The Doctor sighed, pulling frozen peas out of his coat and putting them on the back of his head while he rubbed his forehead.

"Doctor, how and _how_?" she asked, gesturing to their surroundings and to the peas.

"Pockets are bigger on the inside." He said with a cheeky smile, holding up the peas. "Bout being in the TARDIS right now instead of on the sidewalk, I don't know." He shrugged. "I'm not exactly arguing with it." He walked up to the console, still pressing the peas to his head. "She never ceases to amaze me." He sighed, caressing the controls lovingly.

"Doctor, are you okay? I mean with what just happened." Rose asked him, walking up next to him.

"Course I am! That's me, always alright." He said. He quickly threw the peas on the jump seat and ran around to the other side of the console pushing buttons and flipping switches. He looked up at Rose like a puppy who wanted to play. "So, where to next, hm? Well I suppose you would want to say good-bye to your mother." He said when she didn't offer any suggestions, averting his gaze.

"Yea sure." She sighed, going to sit next to the peas. She pulled them into her lap, absent mindedly moving them around while staring at her hands.

"Oh, and Rose." He said, sounding close by. She looked up and he pressed a swift kiss on her lips. She gasped when he pulled away. "Didn't think I'd leave you handing, in a matter of speaking." He said, his cheeky smile on his face once more. Rose blushed lightly and threw the peas at him. "All right, let's find a strong enough power source, shall we?" he asked, throwing a lever.

"Allons-y!" she cried, laughing.


	9. Royslady51 (Second submission)

"_**The Doctor protection league" by Royslady51. Fiction rating "T" **_

* * *

Our Intelligence corps are good...we didn't realize just how well we knew him until we knew he was really out there...and also discovered that Yvonne twat was still running Torchwood 1. The obvious thing to do was to check for Harkness' presence in Cardiff...and we made sure we were just clumsy enough to leave 'tracks' when we found him.

Hey, some of us would like to him to get his hands on us...we're red-blooded Americans, some male, some female, but hey, he's not picky, right? So sue us.

_**The world is spinnin' too fast,**_

_**I'm buying lead Nike shoes.**_

_**To keep myself tethered,**_

_**To the days I try to lose.**_

_**Oh yeah**_

We set the teenagers to finding ways of cutting Yvonne off at the knees. We figured if we could get the British P.M. pissed off at her that would do it. We also figured that if we made it pretty obvious that Jack was the only competent officer in Torchwood that getting him promoted to the number one slot would fix most of those problems...but like I said, we left a 'trail' so we were pretty sure Tosh at least was watching us. If she wasn't, our trust in her was way over-rated.

We were right...not that the Cardiff crew was stupid or anything, putting Jack in charge of the whole thing was good for them too, so that bunch contented themselves with consolidating their position...and putting iron-clad, Torchwood type thingies in place. I'm pretty sure we confused them a bit, at least at first, since we weren't hiding from Cardiff...just London. We weren't hiding physically either, first, we had the Atlantic Ocean between us and London and second...most of us had music blasting from our speakers while we worked.

We had been buying up nice lots, put up privacy fences and then those of us with nice talents in gardening had been putting in multi-seasonal gardens. In the South, we put in things that bloomed in progression and in the north we made sure there were things like Witch Hazel to provide bright winter color, in every area of the USA, from seaside to desert we put in pretty things fit for that part of the country. There was also always a sign on the gate...TARDIS PARKING ONLY on the outside of the gate and on the inside, 'WELCOME TO AMERICA, DOCTOR! There are 13 numbered pads, just in case you've got more than one of you here at the same time...there are also 13 free standing covered garages and gas pumps...those garages have one car each, in them because these parking areas were pretty isolated...for your privacy.'

We had all sorts of 'welcome' features all over the place...but we also had things in place that meant the various governments would let the poor alien be.

_**My mama said to slow down,**_

_**Stop wearin' out your shoes.**_

_**Stop dancing to the music,**_

_**Of Gorillaz in a happy mood**_

Predictably, Old Jack wandered into an American geek-bar when there was about 30 of our younger set setting up to do some line dancing to Gorillaz music...and just as predicably...well. The poor immortal had obviously never been the object of intense interest and a joyful welcome by the more...rabid...version of fans...we older ones tutted at the lack of manners from the older teens and twenty something while quietly resolving to arrange some privacy with the man ourselves...when he'd recovered. Because we could see this coming.

"Is that...is it really him?"

"I think so? Looks like him."

"YAY! Let's get some of him!"

He might have taken that bit the wrong way, from the look on his face...but there were way too many teens and early twenties of questionable orientation to count and he went down under the avalanche of horny young things who were dead sure he wouldn't mind if they tackled him, five big breasted girls leading the way.

They were correct.

Of course, as the rest of his team entered the Geek bar, we older ladies opened another door at the top of some stairs and called down. "He's fine...but it could be a while before the younger crowd are willing to give him back...and anyway, the straight male geeks are all up here...I think everyone else is in the pile on Jack."

The somewhat alarmed girls quickly came up the stairs, Owen waded into the main room, staring in disbelief at how happy these people were to see Jack, only to be sideswiped and taken down by his own, somewhat smaller but still substantial wave of fans. Ripping cloth was clearly heard over excited squeals, lewd comments on his anatomy and Owen's startled cursing. Ianto hesitated too long and was also hauled off...and at that point Gwen and Tosh were above and behind scary old Myra Jekins on the steps...who stopped the disappointed looking boys looking at Gwen and Tosh hopefully and sent the whining boys back to Jack.

"Fans. There's different grades of us, actually, but that lot have morals that pretty much match Jack's." She told the two as she closed the door to the steps and started introducing them to her own crew. "We're the Doctor Protection League, by the way." She handed Tosh a page full of top level passwords and smiled as she invited her to pick a computer. "Those are more to keep out random hackers on the internet than anything else. I'll give you the rest of those once you've gone over the reports on what we've done, why we did it and look at the Doctor Protection and Pampering Plan. He does so much for Earth, we decided it's time someone covered his backside and made sure he has some fun. You two get started exploring what we've been doing while we get you some supper. We're gonna spoil you lot rotten."

Get the Cool Shoe Shine was blasting from the downstair's speakers.

_**Oh yeah**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Oh yeah**_

Three days later, we got Ianto back, two days after that, Owen limped back to the foot of the stairs and Gwen showed him the living quarters they'd all been offered. It took a month to get Jack back, more young things kept showing up and complaining they hadn't had a turn. By that time, Tosh had long since been given the full run of the League's systems...and she'd set up some nasty little traps for hackers and we'd left off the passwords. With Yvonne out of the picture we didn't care who knew what we were doing.

**Who**

Explanations had taken most of a week, even with Tosh pointing out all the systems we had in place that allowed Old Jack to do pretty much as he liked...while at the same time ramping up the welcomes the Doctor would get if he ever showed up.

"If your people mob him, the way you did me...as amusing as that would be to watch," Jack started, looking quite edible in a short bathrobe while someone went to get him clothes in his sizes, convienent, that robe, for even now there were always late comers or people trickling in from other offices who ambushed him without warning. He was getting used to being used as a carnival ride...sort of.

"Tosh, did you show Jack the image we got from the security camera when the kids were taking him down? The expression on his face when he realized no one was hurting him..."

"Oh yes, here. Look at your face, Jack! Now, that's priceless."

"There's worse ways of finding out some folks want a piece of you." Jack chuckled at the look of shock as he was greeted by excited kids, tackled by said kids and...more shock when he realized his clothing was being shredded right off him. "But seriously...he won't take it well."

"Of course not. We have something else in mind. He'll still be mobbed, but by children who also enjoy the show. Ten and unders, plus the littlest ones who are young enough to just like him for himself without judgement. To hug him 'just because' and smile at him and mean it for no reason." One of the older ladies told him. "I think telling him he is loved, wanted and trusted will go farther after the presentation we have planned for him. Should be adorable, too."

**WHO**

No one ever found out how Jack got him to land the TARDIS in the Orlando TARDIS Parking Zones sited inside Disney, but we were waiting with the welcoming committee. Scores of small humans whose heads only came up to his ribs, maybe, were giving him hugs around the hips and legs, grasping his hands to squeeze his fingers or tugging him forward and deeper into the crowd of happy children, as soon as the doors opened and he stepped out.

Most of them were chanting some variation of 'It's him, it's really him!', 'Th' Doctor's here!' or 'I love you Doctor!' and jumping up and down, squealing in excitement and genuine glee at his presence. He was by no means proof against the joy of happy children who made it clear that all they wanted was him to be himself. He did look a bit shocked at the idea, but little ones tugging at his fingers to get him down on their level so they could hug his neck and give him kisses convinced him as easily as they overwhelmed him.

One of the younger mothers finally got the kids settled though there were a few who stubbornly refused to turn loose of his legs. He studied one of them, telling the lad he looked rather familiar.

"My grandma rode with you, Doctor."

"Did she? What's her name?"

"Dorothy, but she said to say you called her Ace. Did she used to be a boy, too?"

The Doctor threw back his head and roared with laughter, "No, son, she didn't. She gave herself that name. And yes, she was with me for many years, when I was in my Seventh form. Used to call me Professor, just to annoy me..." He chuckled.

"I've heard all sorts of stories from her about you...before you were this you."

"Yes, I just bet you have."

"So, does that mean I can call you Uncle Doctor?"

"Well, yes, I suppose it does."

"I take it Jack didn't warn you?" One of the fathers present asked, grinning.

"No, only that there was a 'situation' that needed my attention here."

"That old rascal! I'd pick a switch for him, but I suspect he'd enjoy it too much." One old lady said in exasperation. "It took a while for us to realize you were a real person, we didn't know you actually existed. Once we had that proved to us, though...honey, it's long past time to say 'Thank you' and start making damned sure you understand that to us, you're the biggest, most lovable hero in existence."

He looked up at hundreds of eyes looking back at him in clear affection...and then he promptly blushed.

"We all get it, Doctor. All of us." One woman told him quietly. "It's past time someone started covering your backside when you're planetside here, at least...so we did something about that. It's also past time you had some fun, openly...we've taken care of that, too. Anyone wanting your hide has to go through us. We're gonna spoil you rotten. We want you happy."

"And we are several million strong." Another added.

"Granted, some of the younger ones are currently mobbing Jack...you may want to avoid that bunch until they calm down a bit, since, as Owen and Ianto discovered, the ones that can't reach Harkness aren't chosey on their runner-up prizes and you, my darlin' Doctor, would be the grand prize. We thought you'd be more comfortable with us and the kids."

The Tenth Doctor flushed a deeper shade of red as he understood what was being said, what had been done and what was being done...for him. "Thank you." His tones were beautiful and his voice quiet. He let us lead him, after a polite pause to find out if he was by himself or not, which he was...and he saw the worried little speaking glances that flicked from woman to woman...to a house that had been built here.

"It's your's. And it's not the only one, either."

"What?"

_**Oh yeah**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

"We've got a ton of these gardens, TARDIS parking zones, we call them. All of them have a house on them if you ever need one." Someone handed him a small book full of addresses...all over Earth...and he felt moisture in his eyes at what that meant in terms of acceptence.

"We know you're alone, but you don't have to be. You're our's now, here..." One of the women was an immigration official and she handed him a US ID, "No need for the physic paper now, Doctor. Whether you decide you need it or not, you're a citizen of the United States, now. A resident of the planet you have worked so hard ,for so long to keep safe...and we adore you, you know? We are the Doctor Protection League of Planet Earth and we consider you absolutely precious."

"High time someone did something to make you understand how very many people love you, sweetheart." An old woman in her eighties told him, patting his left hand as she tottered there, leaning on her cane.

He was overwhelmed. There was more emotion in his dark eyes than he could even begin to express. "I don't know what to say." His voice was rough.

The old woman merely gave him a hug. "No need to say it, Doctor. You have shown us constantly. You have guarded us for hundreds of years and it wasn't until very recently we discovered you were more than just a legend. Once we knew though..."

"The biggest problem you're likely to have is deciding which young people out of the millions of applications that have been sent in, you're going to possibly accept. You won't believe how many kids want to go with you, darling. Most of them have training in some kind of weopanless fighting too...lots of blackbelts in that bunch of eager young 's no reason to be alone again, not when there's so many wanting to pamper you." A slightly younger but still gray headed older woman told him. "Now, come along, dear...and let us feed you. There are women here, who between them, have over forty two thousand different recipes that include bananas in the ingredient list."

_**There's a monkey in the jungle**_

_**Watching a vapour trail**_

_**Caught up in the conflict**_

_**Between his brain and his tail**_

_**Oh yeah**_

He was stunned. There was no other word for it. Every time some hotshot official tried to bother him, no matter how large or small the town or where on Earth it was, there was a sizeable crowd of women who soon showed up and shoved him behind them, several quickly had the person or people cornered, angrily telling them off with a rapidly wagging finger under their nose, while someone else tutted while she ushered him into a private home to enjoy a quiet meal and asked how 'his folks' could help while he ate.

Often the people running interference were kids, some of them rather small at that. Grasping his fingers they led him off while someone's mother scolded the cop or politician or whoever. Of course, when the kids fetched him, he ususally ended up in a large playground or in a waterpark or some such thing and all they asked of him was that he share their joy of play and he did so. Children didn't judge...and neither did their mothers, in this case.

In the UK, even UNIT discovered that they didn't really want to rile the hoards of grannies that turned out to pull him away from military types. Angry grandmothers in their eighties, waving walkers or canes were something no one should have to face. Winning an argument with people who took your past cover stories and loudly shredded them to the smallest details in public was impossible.

"YOU did nothing, sonny-me-lad! The Doctor did all the work, you lazy, useless thing!" An angry elder shouted at the top of her lungs on more than one occaision.

How could he resist this? He had long known, in an 'on the outside looking in' sort of way, of the human capacity for love and welcome...for the first time, in a huge way, he was securely on the inside. He had seven young people with him right then and they laughed as they followed him when he ran, happy laughter, full and free and filling the air as they followed where he led.

When had he forgotten the joy in what he did? Seventh? Before? These kids reminded him...oh yes...whole packs of them appeared wherever he did, shortly after he landed somewhere. Many were girls dropping off care packages and a hug, though a few times they brought live plants for the TARDIS' gardens...he had over a dozen species of banana now, in sufficient numbers to have sustainable groves in the TARDIS. He was also pretty sure he had every domestic plant known to gardeners on Earth having ticked the last one off his mental list a week ago, though he knew there were some people trying to develop more just to add to his collection. And yesterday a little girl had given him the latest of five puppies a child had gifted him with. A tiny little thing, he'd seen the parents and the little bitch wasn't going to get big enough to be anything but a decoration. It was a Yorkie...he didn't dare try to carry it in one of his pockets...who knew where it'd end up? The others were of larger breeds, big enough to help in a running fight, if need be. Dogs, he was discovering, are warm, furry things always willing to cuddle. And they were addictive.

_**And if time's elimination**_

_**Then we got nothin' to lose**_

_**Please repeat the message**_

_**It's the music that we choose**_

_**Oh yeah**_

"We didn't tell you about this place because it's never certain when the Door will appear...come on in, Doctor, let us show you one of the wonders I seriously doubt you've seen...bring the TARDIS though, you'll want to be able to return here on your own. Tis a special place, this. Carrarattea Valley, there's things here just for you. We don't know how long they've been here, though."

He gazed at the sight before him with tears streaming unheeded down his face, hundreds of very full Looms, along with thousands of Time Lord children of ages when they would have already looked into the Schism. All in stasis, He wasn't alone, not at all. Not even close as the Looms alone held millions of Gallifreyan lives.

"Carrarattea Valley is also known as the World Tree, Doctor. Around the back of this building, on short, brick pedestals, are TARDIS'. As far as the eye can see, they are there in their stasis fields, waiting. The Valley only has one door, you can enter from one Earth and exit on another. No need for a rough ride as long as you come here first. Carrarattea Valley is unchanging, unless someone adds or removes something. Surely you have noticed that Time doesn't flow here? The deeper into the Valley you go, the younger your body becomes...and it doesn't reverse the process when you come back up. Only does it the once, though...no need to worry about becoming an infant with repeat trips to the Lakes."

His head shot up, his eyes narrowed and he looked around, nodding.

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

"It is a place immune from paradox by it's nature. This place touches every Earth in creation, in every universe, all at the same time. Over countless ages, your people have made trips to untold numbers of universes, each bringing something back from every Earth...this valley holds a bit from all of them. In some ways, it's rather like a naturally occurring Zero Room except its safe to live in...permanently. It may very well have been what gave your species the idea for such rooms."

"Yes, don't you see? Oh, Doctor...go and get your Rose, love...just drop in here on the way back, is all. Using this as your gateway, you can reach any universe safely...but we didn't want to disappoint you without the Door handy, so we waited until it appeared. Now, scoot, go get your lady...you've kids to start waking up."

"Yes, and training."

"Oh yes, that of course. Do you mind if we ask you to leave Old Jack here? This place needs a permanent guardian other than just you, I mean, and this trumps the other kind of universal guard position he would be stuck with."

"Yeah, he's still stuck with being one, but the type can change, right? We can keep him from being the Face of Boe, if you allow it."

He glanced at Jack and saw two timelines splitting off from this point. He nodded. "Jack, you would be better off here, trust me."

Harkness glanced at the woman who had spoken of the Face of Boe, he knew what that was and shuddered at the thought. As he did so, the Doctor saw the Time Line that led to that fate disappear and knew Jack would be staying.

"I keep finding myself saying this, but...I don't know what to say."

"How are we taking care of you properly if we don't make sure you have what you need most?" One of the twelve year old girls asked him. "You're our Doctor and you are precious to us."

She didn't even know the woman who had first told him that, he knew.

"Go get Rose, Doctor, there will be time for talk later." One of the young mothers told him in a kindly tone. "The valley is huge and there are so many things we'd love to show you...but we rather think she'd be put out if she doesn't get to see it too, at the same time."

"Yes. A special first time...something you can share with her."

"Go on, then, Doctor. We want to meet her."

_**Oh yeah**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

He went and got her, of course he did...it didn't take long either, she was in her period of solitary mourning at the Bay, her yearly pilgramiage that she took...and she boarded without a backward glance. She'd already outlived her family after all...and she'd never had eyes for anyone but her Doctor anyway, not after the first time. He told her what had been going on, on Earth and she smiled through happy tears. There were a very large number of women and children, with a lesser number of men who had been taking very good care of her Doctor.

**OK bring it down: **_**Yeah, we're gonna break out**_

When he opened the doors and she caught her first sight of The Carrarattea Valley she gasped at the beauty. She held onto his waist tightly as they stepped into the morning sun and heard the swell of sound from the hundreds of welcoming shouts and felt the waves of love from the cottages along the sides of the upper valley where the Loom Houses were.

_**Oh yeah**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Dare to be Fun**_

_**Oh yeah**_

_**~ FINIS ~**_


	10. Mercedes Aria

"_**Awake" by MercedesAria. Fiction rating "K" (4th Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.) **_

* * *

The years slipped away with every blink of the eye, it seemed. Often she heard it said that time passed faster as the end of life came closer. It was a matter of truth, she concluded with a dejected sigh. She prepared for this moment for years, given her line of work. Defending Earth from invaders tended to have one facing death on a regular basis and it was wise to have things in order, just in case. And Sarah liked to be prepared, especially since Luke and Sky had come into her life.

_Luke and Sky... _The memories of the children who became hers burbled over her, unbidden. All their firsts, all of the simple wonders of the mundane world and the unparalleled marvels of the universe as seen through their young eyes brought to the surface the deep bitterness of the briefness of a human life. They had so many more firsts to come. So many that she would not see.

But the moment had been long prepared for.

Yet she was unprepared when _It_ happened. She sat in the attic by the window with a cup of cold tea in one hand, hugging an aged stuffed owl with the other as she gazed up at the stars. When that old familiar blue box made herself at home in the attic, Sarah drew in a deep breath as the loft space suddenly seemed so much smaller on the inside. It wasn't the appearance of the TARDIS that she was so unprepared for, because she expected him to come, just as he had so many times before, usually at the worst possible time. Tonight was no exception and his timing could not have been worse. What she was unprepared for, what she could never have ever been prepared for was _Who_ stepped out of that police box. In the blink of an eye, she was thrown decades into her past. Time froze.

"Hello, Sarah." The deep timbre of his beloved voice made her believe that her hearing was failing her. The wide, familiar grin of her cherished companion greeting her with giddy expectation made her believe that her vision was also failing.

_This isn't happening. This isn't possible...!_ Despite Sarah's life being full to the brim of impossible things, apparently, some things were still beyond even her scope of belief. He was always one of them. Realizing her hearing and vision were fully intact, she now knew her wit and reflexes left her stranded. The tea cup fell from her hands, sloshing the ice-cold liquid out over the ragged owl. It trickled onto the floor with its ceramic vessel following, shattering on the hardwood floor. _Wha-? Ho-? Wh-? _She tried to form a coherent question, but her voice also miscarried. In the end, all she could do was gape at him.

Whenever the Doctor set about to go somewhere, something usually went wrong. Specifically, he would almost always miss his mark. Now, exactly where he intended to be, something was still amiss. It took him several seconds to put his finger on it and when he did, he found it terribly disheartening and his grin diminished to a concerned, thin line. The look of elation he expected was not on Sarah's face. Something was wrong. Instead, she looked positively dumbfounded and not exactly happy.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, careful not to reveal his disappointment just in case he had missed his destination after all and come out in an alternative terminus.

He stepped fully out of the TARDIS, brown curls untamed without a hat. His ridiculously long scarf batted about his feet teasing to trip him at any moment, though it never actually would. The Doctor,_ her_ Doctor, looking just as he had the last time she saw him, shoved his hands into his pockets, and regarded her with slight annoyance. _No_, she corrected herself, _not simple annoyance_. There was something behind the exasperation: apprehension, she guessed. He caught her gaze and realized that she sensed his insecurity. "Look," he said almost brusquely. "I can't stay long. Only just stopped by to get you and-." The incredulous look she gave him stopped his words.

She positioned the owl in front of her as though it was a shield. His eyes fell to the stuffed bird causing his mouth to twist into a pained frown as he recalled that the last time he saw the toy was also the last time he saw her.

"Go?" As quickly as her voice had fled her, it returned. But her tone came out colder than she meant it to be. "I can't go."

The façade of confidence fell away completely. It was his turn to stare at her in silence.

"What are you doing here?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but either couldn't or thought better of it. He blinked and shook his head as though he didn't quite comprehend why she questioned him. He took a step towards her and she took a step back. Was this the wrong Sarah after all? Had he botched it up again? No, no! He was absolutely certain that he hadn't. He consulted the TARDIS before setting his course and she was absolutely certain that this was the right place, the right moment, the right Sarah. And though he may have often let the TARDIS down, the old girl had yet to let him down, especially in matters of such importance.

"I told you," he answered quietly, looking at the rafters of the attic, "that we would meet again. Don't you remember, Sarah?"

She started to say something, then stopped, shaking her head in dismissal. They already had this conversation, years ago, and though it hadn't happened for him yet, she had no energy or desire to revisit the topic, not even with _this_ him, so she simply said in a flat voice, "And we have. More than once."

The lack of affection, or any emotion, disturbed him greatly. She was hurt, he diagnosed. _Hurt by me? Something I've done? Would do? Myself? Or another incarnation? Incarnations? _Petulantly, he dismissed that line of Mobius thought as ultimately unimportant. It had nothing to do with why he was here now. The sullen looked remained etched in his features for a brief moment before evaporating with understanding. _Oh, Sarah! _So great was his relief when he realized that she had misunderstood him all those years ago that it came out in wide grin.

"No, no, Sarah. That's not what I meant." He forgot about her disbelief and defensiveness and rushed towards her. "When I left you in Croydon_, I_," he tugged at his scarf to emphasize that he meant this incarnation and not a future one, "Couldn't come back. Not until this moment."

She turned her back on him fully to prevent him from getting too close. She bit back the urge to snap at him that he hadn't left her Croydon, but Aberdeen. Decades of old hurts and emotions bubbled up and threatened to spill over, but with practiced resolution she buried them once more. It was a deep blow to her pride to discover that he could still rattle her so after all this time; that his abandonment was as fresh now as it had been then.

"I'm afraid you're too late," she quipped lightly, trying too hard to make it sound as though she didn't care. The Doctor, however, did not miss the acrimony that laced about her words, and pulled up before he invaded her space. "But then timing never was your strong suit."

"Sarah-"

She shrugged off whatever explanation was coming and turned her attention to the heavens. Her guarded veneer began to crack. "You're too late. My time is nearly over."

He heard the quiet pain and fear in her statement and understood the reason for her behavior. He didn't expect her to know, thinking he would be in time to save her from that knowledge and the grief that accompanied it. But then Sarah's intuitiveness had always been one of her greatest strengths, so of course, she would sense that the end was approaching. "I couldn't come back any sooner, Sarah. I am sorry for that."

Sarah inhaled a quiet breath, reminding herself of his alienness and how futile continuing this line of conversation with him was. She would never quite be able to make him understand the extent of damage his departure had caused her because _he_ couldn't understand. Determinedly, she let it go and concentrated on the fact that he was here now, most assuredly for the very last time.

"I know, I've had that conversation with," she paused thoughtfully, pursing her lips together, wondering how much she could tell him. "With a future incarnation." She willed herself to lose the biting edge to her voice so he wouldn't be on the defensive. "And anyway, I knew it couldn't last forever. Nothing can, can it?" The air was so still that she began to doubt that he was still there; perhaps he had never been there. Sarah couldn't bring herself to turn around.

Then, just when her doubts became overwhelming, he spoke. "It can, actually."

Her breath caught in her throat and her pulse pounded in her ears as her mind raced with all the possible implications of those words. It took several moments for Sarah to regain her composure and to stop struggling for meaning; she almost always misunderstood him when she tried so hard for comprehension. Finally, she managed, "Don't tease me, Doctor. I'm not in the mood for it." A chasm suddenly opened up between them as Sarah realized that nothing had changed for him while everything had changed for her. She transformed so very much and he not at all.

The enormity of that gulf did not deter him, if he even noticed it. "I'm serious, Sarah," his tone was grave and lower than before. "One last trip."

A melancholy settled over her as she understood that he did not grasp that death had a very different meaning for her and that the thought of jaunting off into the unknown with him pretending that nothing was wrong was wholly unappealing. Sarah squared her shoulders and stared absently out of the window. "There seem to be an awful lot of one lasts these days."

The air around her shifted and became cooler with a familiar extraterrestrial scent. He was close behind her now, the expanse between them now fully closed. Involuntarily, she shivered as he brushed her hair off of her shoulders and rested his chin atop her head. He mistook her shivering for a chill, or so she thought, as he took the owl and put it on a table just out of her reach before wrapping both his scarf and his arms about her,. "I'm quite sure you've noticed that I really shouldn't be here. My very presence is breaking all sorts of time laws, shrugging off all manner of convention." He gave her a sidelong glance hoping that he still possessed the power to make her smile.

Whether he was successful he wasn't sure as the shadows hid her face from him. "Paradox and all that?" she queried.

He nodded, "When someone or something remains in a timeline they should no longer be a part of, all manner of chaos can ensue…"

_How typical!_ Sarah thought, a bit taken aback by his apparent insensitivity to her situation. _I'm facing death and he's lecturing me on timelines! _A part of Sarah wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, but she didn't have a chance as the Doctor tapped her shoulder impatiently and scolded, "Would you stop thinking so hard and pay attention to what I'm saying for once?"She nearly admonished him for his seeming use of telepathy, but something in his voice suggested that this wasn't his usual lecture and she held her tongue. When he was satisfied he wouldn't be interrupted again, he went on, "As I was saying- all manner of chaos can ensue. However, there are a few loopholes that exist. In rare circumstances, chaos can be avoided if the something or someone is removed from the timeline just prior to the fixed point of their demise; the how isn't important, just that it's done."

He had done something clever, or at least, thought he had. Sarah didn't need to see his face to see the smug self-confidence that exuded from him- she could feel it. He had done something clever and his ego now needed to be stroked, but he had told her stop thinking so hard and she had done so quite literally. Though she heard every word he said, she hadn't yet begun to process it and therefore could give him no affirmation. This wounded the Doctor terribly. They stood in silence for some while before the Doctor, in a remarkable bout of insight into Sarah's humanity and fears, remarked. "I know you're worried about what will happen to Sky and Luke without you to watch over them, but I can tell you that they not only survive but they thrive. You're leaving them quite a legacy, Sarah, one that they will carry on with brilliance. They both will have families of their own. Sky will be the most like you with a gaggle of intergalactic orphans she'll take in and call her own. Luke will establish the Bannerman Road Institute that trains specially chosen operatives and equips them with their own Mr. Smith and, in certain cases, a K9, even on other planets. Before long, youth throughout the galaxy will be defending their planets from their attics with someone's mum as their leader."

When he finished, he discovered Sarah staring up at him with her mouth slightly agape. He grinned, but she didn't. Deep anxiety marred her features and she clutched her forehead as though in pain. "You're telling me things I shouldn't know," she rebuked him, shaking her head in distress. "Things that _you_ shouldn't know. How can you possibly know any of that?"

He seemed entirely unconcerned with his forbidden knowledge. The grin widened and his eyes twinkled with mischief as he answered with a shrug. "I'm a Time Lord."

Sarah stared at him, uncomprehendingly, and let her hand drop to her side, though her head really was beginning to throb. After regarding him for minute to gauge his mood, she decided it was best to indulge his rhetoric lest she never get a straight answer out of him. "Yes, I know you're a Time Lord."

He tilted his chin up so that he was looking down his nose at her with a serious face. But without a hat to hide the mischievous sparkle that still lit his eyes, his jocularity was exposed, leaving Sarah even more baffled. "You don't understand the implication. I'm not a human being; I walk in eternity."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means that this conversation is giving me a bout of déjà vu, isn't it you?"

"Doctor!" He had done it with that- pulled back the somber cloak she had wrapped herself so tightly in. The sound of her laughter that had been lost to him for so long rang in his ears and the light of her smile made his own grow.

"Eternity can be a lonely place," he told her with a shrug. "Having my best friend with me would certainly assuage that a bit I should think." He could see the rapid-fire succession of questions building up behind her eyes before her mouth even formed the first query and he quickly went on, "Anyway, I regenerated and past incarnations can get away with more than the current one ever could."

Sarah, her mind reeling as she struggled to comprehend what he was telling her, tried desperately not to let her rising hope get caught up in his upsurge of enthusiasm, but it was a futile fight. The beginnings of a grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. "You're not doing something another incarnation will end up paying for, are you?"

He could see the embers of the Sarah he knew so well sparking beneath the melancholy haze that clouded her green eyes. He couldn't resist fanning the flame. "Now, Sarah," he drawled innocently. "Would I do something like that?"

"Oh, absolutely you would!"

He laughed and she couldn't stop herself from joining him, though her joy was not as bold as his. "Surprisingly, I'm not, actually," he promised. He took her hands in his and continued on more seriously. "As of tomorrow, you can no longer be a part of this timeline not even in the smallest of ways. Provided we don't re-enter this time stream until the next appointed time, we can do as we please."

"The next appointed time?" she wrinkled her nose at him. "You said I can never re-enter this timeline. How can there be a next time?"

"There's always a next time, Sarah. I'd have thought you'd have figured that out by now."

By this time she'd had time to process his proposal and its possible repercussions, her merriment waned as she forced herself to face reality. "I'm old," she told him bluntly, pulling out of his grasp. "I'm allowed to be slower on the uptake."

He looked down his nose at her again, the twinkle completely gone. He regarded her solemnly with a critical eye before declaring, "You're not old. You're beautiful."

That was too much for Sarah, who could no longer believe in this particular fairy tale he fed her. She turned away from him completely. "You know I hate to be patronized. So please- don't."

"You should know me better than that." He sounded aggrieved, but she rolled her eyes. "You don't believe me?" She didn't answer. "Fine, see for yourself." From the corner of her eye, she saw the Doctor fish a hand mirror out of a coat pocket that Sarah was convinced was sewn by the TARDIS herself. It was the only explanation for the amount of rubbish that coat could hold. Aggravation welled up within her. She knew what she looked like, she didn't need his mirror to remind of how old she'd become. She shooed the glass away, but he would have none of it. "Stop being childish," he chided in the way she had so often scolded him. "Look." She acquiesced only get him to leave her alone. Resolving not to give the looking glass anything more than the most fleeting of glances, she shot a hesitant look in its direction.

That was all it took to once again throw Sarah into her past. The face that stared back at her was one that she had been familiar with years ago, but it was wrong now; it was too round, too fresh, too young. It had to be trick glass or the glow emanating from the TARDIS that played tricks on her fatigued eyes. She raised her shoulders as though physically shaking off unwanted memories.

"I don't look like that anymore. I'm so much more than 25." Her voice cracked with sorrow and resentment. "Please, Doctor, don't do this to me. I just can't handle these fairy stories."

The Doctor stared at her in astonishment; stunned that she thought he was making this up, that _he was lying to her_. With heavy hearts he took back the mirror she thrust him. For once, he was at a loss for words and it was an odd, uncomfortable feeling. The abyss between them began to crack open again. But before it could grow too wide, he quietly asked, "Have I ever lied to you, Sarah?"

_Rule number one: The Doctor lies._ The thought struck Sarah solidly in the chest as that particular rule always troubled her. Perhaps it was true now, but it wasn't true then. The thought forced her to reconsider her judgment of the Doctor's proposal. If _she_ was being honest, she could not recall a single instance where the Doctor lied to her without regard or so blatantly. "No," she admittedly, ashamed for doubting him so severely. She couldn't face him and fixed her gaze on the heavens again.

"Then why should I start now?" He spoke so softly that she almost didn't hear him. Whatever half-truths may have been told, he had always, always come clean it the end, full of remorse for those white lies that often saved her a tremendous amount of worry. A ghost of a smile kissed her lips.

She was so still for so long that the Doctor began to doubt himself. It never once occurred to him that she might decline to go with him. It never once occurred to him what he would do if she did decline. But decline _his_ invitation? _Sarah? No, surely._ _Sarah always goes with me, no matter how put out she might be. _Oh, he knew even though he really shouldn't as Sarah told him, she had turned down subsequent incarnations, but she would never turn _him _down. _Would she?_

Time was slipping away from them and she made no indication of saying anything more. He decided that he couldn't bear to hear her say no. He couldn't face losing her to eternity. He stubbornly refused to watch her walk away from him so he walked away from her. His return to the TARDIS was slow and he kept looking back in anticipation of her running to him, begging him not to go without her.

But Sarah remained where she was, staring at something he couldn't see. He was at the door now of his faithful friend. Roughly, he jammed the key into the lock and gave it an angry twist, filled with even more resolve to leave. But he couldn't. The TARDIS wouldn't allow it. She had locked him out. Under his breath, he cursed her treachery, accusing the blue box of betrayal.

"You said it could last forever." Sarah's voice startled him from his struggle with the TARDIS. Guilty, he whipped around, trying to hide evidence of his attempted escape, but she still wasn't looking at him.

Leaving the key where it was, he cautiously started towards her. "Yes. I did."

With a heavy sigh, she turned partially towards him. "I've missed you." It was then that he glimpsed what she had been trying to hide from him-the tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Oh, Sarah, I've missed you." He swept her up in hug, lifting her feet off of the floor and swinging her about. Pressing his lips against her ear, he whispered conspiratorially, "I wouldn't do this for just anyone you know. This can only be done for one person, one very important person, only once. Start doing something like this willy-nilly and we might end up causing a crack in the universe or something equally unpleasant."

For the first time since he'd returned, Sarah's smile reached her eyes and set them afire. Without letting go of him, she whispered back, "Will I be able to say goodbye to Luke and Sky before we go?"

"Of course, my Sarah Jane," he promised with a grin. "There's still plenty of time."

_**"And when you have a loved one buried, you have one thought over and over again- that you would do anything, anything to get them back. So if you're telling me that the price of seeing them, feeling them, of having them in my life, is my sanity. That's a price I will happily pay. Trust me, when it comes to letting one of them go I have no desire to ever make progress."**_

_**- Michael Britton, Awake, NBC**_

A thin man in unusual attire stood in the shadows of a small grove of trees watching the growing crowd swarm the cemetery. The stray beams of sunlight that managed to find their way through the foliage danced through his wavy hair, jumping now and then off the silver strands that were intertwined with the dark.

Absently, he toyed with a string around his finger. A yellow yo-yo dropped from his palm and returned, again and again. His presence went unnoticed by the group of mourners. Just as he was about to move on from the depressing scene, he saw a young man run over to a group of teary-eyed teenagers. The gang rebuffed the dark-haired boy initially, put off by his irreverent demeanor to the day's misfortune. He didn't need to hear the friends remarks to know that they were appalled by a son's lack of disheartenment over his mother's "death". The boy was clearly trying to explain something to them, animatedly gesturing to the casket and then to something he held in his hand. The stranger in the shadows lifted his chin a bit to better see the group.

The sunlight skipped from the silver in his hair over to the tool the boy held out to his friends. The man smirked at the sight of it. His gaze lingered on the object; he was almost sorry to leave it behind; that sonic screwdriver served him well in his younger days. Then, knowing that his message had been received, he turned abruptly on his heel and disappeared, as Luke, Clyde, Maria, Rani, and Sky searched the heavens for something... a blue box, perhaps.

In spite of the solemnness of the day, in spite of the ache a corner of the universe was reeling from, he simply could find no sadness to express:for their loss was not his loss; their heartache was not his heartbreak. For him, the upstairs bedroom of 13 Bannerman Road wasn't empty. While they would never see Sarah Jane again, he would, in the incarnation she so adore. Any time, he wanted to see her again, to grab her hand run head-on into the unknown, all he had to do was close his eyes and…

_**Awake **_


	11. AmberKendsLacy

"_**You don't have to be alone" by AmberKendsLacy. Fiction rating "K+" **_

* * *

In the beginning he had never wanted nor planed in his life to be the healer of many, a man to praise above all else or even a hero to tell the children of at night to scare away their fears of the dark. All he wanted was to run, run from where he had been and what he had seen. He was so much younger then, when he ran from it all. But now he is old, yet somehow, to his shame, he continues to flee.

They wouldn't have understood why at the time… His friends that is, his family were nonexistent to him by that stage in his life. They never would have understood his cowardice, his need to run. Leaving all he cared for in the lurch just to have the slice of freedom he was never given before, but it was all at a cost that he didn't know he'd have to pay, a cost to great for him to ever pay.

He lost them, all of them, and there was nothing he could do to save them, because of his cowardice. When others had found him, he had been grieving, wrapped up and discarded in the smallest corner of the world he could find. He didn't say a word to anyone, as he wouldn't dare to repeat to others what he had seen. The fire that had burned them, that had taken them away from him, was gone by then. For the longest time he tried to convince himself that the fire he had seen, the smell and visuals of death that had come with it, were all false in his mind. That the loss was all a nightmare that he had yet to awaken from, a nightmare of uncountable misery and unhappiness for what felt like an eternity.

Then, one day when he was older and not even the slightest bit wiser, he let go of his theory, and accepted the loss for what it was, for the first time in the longest of times. Now he shed no tears as he did then, the pain and grieving now situated deep inside him, where the grief took hold and home for the rest of his days, while he lived on. He had to live on, to heal others while healing himself; it was in his title after all.

A medal was given to him during those times, one that was supposedly meant to signify his bravery for saving any that remained of the blaze which took all he cared for. Years had passed and the medal had been scuffed and rusted, growing old as he grew old. Now he holds this medal in his hands, the words that were engraved into its surface, that detailed his good work, were long gone. His wrinkled old hand gently gliding over the scuffed and old edges, memories he so hated yet needed to be who he was now, the healer and hero of the children.

"Chan, Professor Yana, Tho?" The old man looked up from the old medal in his hands, looking over to his assistant. He had saved her as well, as he remembered, one of the many he had saved from the fire. She had been very loyal to him ever since, claiming that she owed him her life and would repay him by staying by his side. At first he remembered protesting to her loyalty, thinking that she was too young, that she had too much to go on and enjoy in her life to tie herself down to him, an old coward. But she still stayed by him, despite his protests and he couldn't help but grow fond of her as time eventually went on. His assistant looked over at him from her work; her pincers clicking in a way that he knew meant that she was worried about him. He smiled at her reassuringly, quickly placing the medal back in the pocket of his vest, the medal of another object briefly brushing against his fingertips, the sensation of burning, of heated pain quickly spreading up his hand, but was gone as soon as he reared back from the pain.

"I'm fine Chantho, just thinking to myself," he mumbled, laughing a little in the middle as he spoke in order to calm her worrying nerves. This seemed to work, as she smiled back and continued on her work, the pincers having stopped clicking in worry. He moves back to his station of work, watching the last hope for humanity being created through his imagination and the hopes and beliefs of all the remaining humanity. He looks over to the screens displaying the ship that would carry them out of this hell, then another screen that displayed the heaven it would take them all to.

"Utopia," he muttered to himself, not having to turn around to see Chantho smiling a little to herself as she worked silently on whatever technology she could understand to either repair or create into working order. Always she was so helpful, even if she figured that her help was useless, he saw it differently. He had been so alone when she stuck herself to his side, so while she may think that he was very much thankful for her help and companionship. She kept him in one place, as he stopped running the day he met her, and he took care of her, just like she took care of him.

His faithful companion, he hoped he'd always be there to help her like she had helped him.

He hoped he'd never hurt her.

1…2…3…4…

The drums said differently though… The drum beat that had always followed him, that had burned in his mind from the very beginning, that almost stopped him from saving the people from that fire, that nearly stopped him from saving her. The drums were calling, to what he wasn't sure and for the longest time he didn't want to know. He had spent his whole, long life just ignoring it, just letting it go in the back of his head. But now he was old, and the drums were louder than they had ever been, either that or he getting was weaker with age, too weak to hold them back like he use to.

1…2…3…4…

He didn't want to be the healer in the beginning, the hero for the children, because the drums said he wasn't. He proved them wrong though, proved that

he was better than the drums, that he could help others, and that he could be the healer.

The man that helps the weak...

1…2…3…4…

A Doctor…

1…2…3…4…


	12. Kornerbrandon

"_**Better a broken heart" by Kornerbrandon. Fiction rating "K" (Eleventh Doctor and Clara Oswald/Tenth Doctor and Rose.) **_

* * *

There was always that longing in his green eyes. Behind the cheery bowtie-wearing facade was a man suffering. Amy had seen it first of course; then Rory, then River.

Why was he suffering? Apart from all the usual self-doubt that had followed him around since the Time War, he knew that just a few years ago, he had made the stupidest mistake of his life.

He had let Rose Tyler go.

Ever since, he hadn't been the same. Ever since then, he had never formed a closer bond with any of his companions. He definitely cared about River, but he had loved Rose with both of his hearts, and they had been slowly wrenching apart since she'd left him.

It was the loss of her that made it even harder to trust himself than before. He hadn't trusted anyone as much as Rose either. Over and over again, he would replay that awful moment at Bad Wolf Bay in his head, constantly thinking of what might have been between him and Rose.

Because of her, he was afraid

* * *

Clara had known from within a few days of travelling with the Doctor that he was missing something from his life. She could see right through him, and in his eyes, she saw that he had been betrayed. Not by someone who he thought was an ally, no; but something that had scarred him far deeper.

For her, it was easy to get over something; she'd done it plenty of times. But with the Doctor, he seemed to be beyond hope. Whenever she looked at him, she could see it would take a while for that scar to heal; maybe it would never heal at all. She didn't know how much longer he could keep it up for. Could he stay strong?

Despite the fact he hid it so well; she had known from the beginning but hadn't said a word about. Not even the odd passing question or two. She had known it would be a bit of a delicate subject, but now she regretted saying nothing. Maybe she could've helped him a bit; She didn't know why she'd said nothing. Could he go on for much longer?

As she walked through one of the several corridors on the TARDIS, she noticed a door that she'd never seen before. Why hadn't she noticed it before? She didn't bother answering that question. Like all the other rooms, it had a name on it.

Rose.

This was strange; the Doctor had never mentioned a Rose before. The door itself was coloured pink and yellow. The colours didn't exactly go together, so why was it coloured like that? Underneath the name, roughly scratched into the wood of the door were the words: _Better a broken heart than no heart at all._

This seemed really odd. But just as she was about to dismiss the thought, she heard a noise come from inside. As she gently opened the door, she saw the Doctor, a framed picture in his left hand, his right on his forehead, sobbing.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" she asked, softly.

"Clara, on this day 5 years ago, I made the biggest mistake in my long life."

"That being?"

The Doctor decided there was no point in bottling it up anymore. "I let the love of my life go." He handed the picture over to Clara, who was surprised to see a man in a pinstripe suit and a beautiful blonde girl standing next to him, both smiling.

"Who's the man?"

"That's me. When Time Lords get mortally injured, we regenerate. We change our looks and personalities, but not our memories," he said.

"And the girl?"

"She's the girl I lost. I lost her to a human version of myself. All I had to do was those three words, and I couldn't. I don't know why I couldn't, but I didn't. Maybe it's because I'd already lost too many people when I was younger. But it was for her own good. I wish I'd been selfish for once in my life. I love her with both my hearts, and I always will."

Clara's heart broke for the Doctor when she heard this. To have to give up the love of your life for their own good would hurt badly. Okay, maybe he hadn't told her that he loved her, but actions spoke louder than words didn't they? That's what she'd thought anyway.

"She's gone now. I wish she was here. I came so close to saying those words to her once, but I got cut off."

The two sat in silence for a few moments before the Doctor took the picture and set it down on the bedside table.

"We'd better get moving though. The TARDIS is getting a bit restless." He said.

"Just one question Doctor: What was her name?" she asked tentatively

"Rose. Her name was Rose." He said through his tear-stained face.

As she followed the Doctor out, she suddenly realised that no-one knew a broken heart better than the Doctor. She found herself agreeing with the messy scratching in the wall.

_Better a broken heart than no heart at all. _


	13. Yhoretta

"_**Endings" by Yhoretta. Fiction rating "K" **_

* * *

There had been so many endings, as there would always be so many more.

The Doctor hates endings.

It all started with his granddaughter, Susan, and their voyage into the unknown together. It was all his fault that her time with him ended...but it needed to. She was so young, so innocent, so kind- and she would have stayed with her grandfather forever. All the others who came after her dug new holes in his hearts that could never be filled. Even those bothersome teachers could not be replaced in his memories. Jamie, Sarah Jane, Romana, Tegan, Ace, Charley, just to name a few. It is impossible for him to list the names of _all _his friends, because he hates endings, and he never looks back.

Except...once.

He was dying, golden flames dancing along his skin, and he looked back to them; to his friends. Every single one. Every single goodbye that was never uttered, every single tear that was never shed. Back in the TARDIS, his face was burnt away to reveal that of another, ready to run away from the pain of loss again. He didn't want to go.

The Doctor hates endings.


End file.
